Fueling Your Entrepreneurial Spirit Through Connections – RVE #336

Join Rose Willard for an inspiring conversation about the entrepreneurial spirit with Dave and Traci Stanley, passionate travelers, entrepreneurs and full-time RVers, as they share their journey of building community on the road.

From their beginnings as home exchangers to becoming host consultants for CurbNTurf, Dave and Traci exemplify the spirit of connection and entrepreneurship in the RV lifestyle.

Discover how they turned their love for travel into a mission to cultivate meaningful relationships, and learn about the exciting opportunities CurbNTurf offers for fellow travelers.

Fueling Your Entrepreneurial Spirit Through Connections

With Dave & Traci Stanley

Your Host: Rose Willard

Key Topics Covered:

• The journey from home exchanging to full-time RV living
• The role of host consultants for CurbNTurf
• Fostering connections and building trust on the road
• Entrepreneurial opportunities for RVers with CurbNTurf
• Advice for creating income while traveling
• The power of community in the RV lifestyle

To foster your entrepreneurial spirit, tune in to this episode for valuable insights, heartfelt stories, and a renewed appreciation for the connections made while wandering the open road.

Connect With Dave & Traci:

Email: daventraci [at] curbnturf.com

Learn More About CurbNTurf: www.CurbNTurf.com

Listen to The RV Entrepreneur Episode #336

Listen and subscribe to The RV Entrepreneur on Spotify or in your favorite podcast app. Or, read the full episode transcript below. Leave a comment, or contact us with any questions.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Podup Podcasting Platform: podup.com?fpr=david28⁠

RVcast Podcast: ⁠www.RVcast.com⁠

RV Convention: ⁠https://rvconvention.podup.com/

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The RV Entrepreneur #336 Full Episode Transcript:

Fueling Your Entrepreneurial Spirit Through Connections

DAVE: Yeah, and I love the RV entrepreneur podcast because it generates that thought process of, well, maybe if I put myself out there, then something will come up. And for anybody that wants to follow that entrepreneurial spirit, whatever adventure you take on, the chances that you’re actually going to stay in that specific realm is probably pretty slim. But the fact that you put yourself out there, then something happens.

RV LIFE: Welcome to the RV Entrepreneur podcast. The weekly show for nomads work campers, RVers and entrepreneurs looking to earn a living or build a business while enjoying the RV lifestyle. This week’s host is Rose Willard. Let’s settle in and enjoy the RV entrepreneur podcast brought to you by RV life.

ROSE: Hey there! Welcome to another episode of the RV Entrepreneur Podcast. I’m Rose Willard, your host this week, and I absolutely loved my conversation with Dave and Tracy Stanley, two of the sweetest souls you’ll ever meet. Their entrepreneurial spirit is infectious, and they have such a way of connecting with others with a lifetime of entrepreneurship and travel experience. Dave and Tracy, who are currently full time Rv’ers, will take you on a journey into their role as host consultants for a newer app called Carbon Turf. The app may sound similar to Boondockers, Welcome and Harvest hosts, but what I learned from our conversation is that it’s so much more. So in this episode, they will share all the details about the app’s functionality, their journey to becoming host consultants, and the significant role they play. We’ll also discuss some entrepreneurial opportunities that Curb and Turf offers for turning passions into profit. So grab your favorite beverage, cozy up, and get ready to be inspired by Dave and Tracy’s incredible entrepreneurial journey right after this.

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ROSE: Hi, Dave and Tracy. Thank you for joining me today. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much.

DAVE: For having us. For us. This is a real treat.

ROSE: It’s an absolute pleasure to have you both on here today, and I can’t wait to dive into your incredible journey and hear all about your experiences from home, exchanging to full time RV life, as well as your work now with Carbon turf, which I haven’t heard of before, so I really can’t wait to dive into your experiences and your insights. But first, please quick share a little bit about how you got into RV life and what that looks like now.

DAVE: Yeah. So, uh, we have always been adventurous sorts and we both grew up traveling a bit. Tracy comes from a very large family, and so they actually had to use a Greyhound bus to travel. Um, she is one of 17 children. And so you have to have a Greyhound bus. And so don’t feel so bad, Rose, that you’re only traveling with two because.

ROSE: That’s a big family and you’re doing a bus. I mean, that was way back when. Before that was kind of the cool thing, right? Yeah, right. That’s awesome.

DAVE: And then, uh, growing up myself, we had an RV, an old Winnebago Indian was the brand. And, uh, traveled back east a couple of times until that RV was stolen. And that ended our family’s RV adventures, so.

ROSE: Oh, no. What happened to that?

DAVE: Uh, my parents were renting it out to supplement their income to help pay for the RV, and, uh, it didn’t return on one of the rentals, so. But it was found years later just as a box. It was completely stripped. So they just said, now you can just destroy it. So. But, uh. Oh my goodness. So we did have some overland, uh, adventures, both of us growing up and uh, and then when we were first married, we actually our first van purchase was a 1963 Volkswagen Micro Deluxe 23 window beach van that wasn’t a camper. And I am so sad that we sold that. But, uh, because that’s a very valuable vehicle now.

ROSE: For sure.

DAVE: But we traded it in for a 1961 camper and, uh, and took the kids out adventuring in that.

TRACI: Then we upgraded to a newer Volkswagen with the pop top. So when you said the pop top, you know, the kids slept on top.

ROSE: Yeah, we were talking before we hit record how my husband and I just purchased a Roadtrek Zion Slumber Class B van to do some part time out and back trips. And yeah, it’s got the pop top. So fingers crossed guys with two boys with us. I think it’ll be all right. It’ll be fun. I can’t wait for the agility and yeah, everything you can do with that. So you’re gonna love it.

DAVE: Rose. You’re gonna love it. And we only. Well, Tracy wasn’t with me at the time. I took the boys out camping alone. And that was the only one time in owning that VW eurovan that I left the pop top up and took off from the campground.

ROSE: Oh, no. Okay, I figured do noted. Yeah.

DAVE: By the time we, uh, got on the on ramp and I’m like, yeah, this that.

ROSE: Doesn’t sound right.

DAVE: And it feels like I’m pulling a kite. And, uh, sure enough, I.

ROSE: Oh for.

TRACI: Sure. Mhm.

DAVE: Yeah. So little adventures like that. Uh, that’s kind of the introduction into our RV life. And then we recently purchased a class B that Tracy and I are currently living in full time. As we take on this curb and turf adventure that we’ve started.

ROSE: Yeah, I can’t wait to get into that stuff. But one of the main themes of this podcast is about entrepreneurship. So I like to ask my guests, what does being an entrepreneur mean to you guys?

DAVE: So the entrepreneur life of in the RV. So we have been entrepreneurs our whole lives. Um, I’ve been in the mortgage business, owned my own mortgage company for a while. Tracy’s been an independent draftsperson.

TRACI: And actually started out owning my own art and frame out of our home art and frame business. And then from there I went into drafting and, you know, we just whatever piques our interest.

DAVE: So with that, the reason for our entrepreneurialship is freedom. We’re not real keen on clock punching, and it was just a joy with the kids growing up to be able to be to every activity that they were involved in, to actually be able to coach their baseball and basketball teams and, and direct them in plays or, you know, be involved with their musical travel.

TRACI: With their groups, their choirs or band or what.

ROSE: Ever.

TRACI: Owning your own company allows you to set your own time frame. It lets you determine, you know, when you’re on and off the clock. And family time was most important to us, and being an entrepreneur helps you. You know, in those adventures you get to make your family first, right?

ROSE: And you said, you know, you get to make that time. You get to choose when you’re on or off. But did you run into any challenges with that? I know as my husband and I owning our own previous business, that was always hard to shut it off, right?

TRACI: Yeah, yeah, there was one time, you know, mortgage, it goes up and down and you know, when it’s hot, it’s hot. And I remember. So I was drafting up a new home design for us. We were going to build a new home. And at the time David was working day and night in mortgage and the design would go from his office that was in the home. He had an outside door for people to be able to come from the exterior of the house, and also a door that he could come in and out of, you know, the house without going outside to come in. And I would threaten him and say, that door is coming off. If you don’t realize how much time you’re spending away, you know, you you are at home, but you’re not at home. So I’m going to take that door out unless you start using it.

ROSE: Good for you. Good for you. How did that go? How did that go, Dave?

DAVE: Just great. Yeah, I learned my lesson. Okay, good. So you.

ROSE: Learned okay. That’s good.

DAVE: So in that case, it was not I’m putting my foot down and slamming the door. It’s I’m putting my foot down and removing the door.

ROSE: Removing how unique. Yeah.

DAVE: And the ups and downs of the business cycle. That’s always a challenge, right, with an entrepreneur. But if you look back of the trade off between security and freedom, I’ll take freedom any time. And you just you just know that when times are good, you’ve got to sock it away to be able to navigate the downturns.

TRACI: And I’ll have to admit, it was a little bit of a leap of faith going into, okay, we’re going to do this on our own and not work for somebody else. You know for sure you have a mortgage and you have kids and you’re thinking, oh, yikes, right? We don’t have insurance and we have to do all that on our own. You know, that part of it is a little bit scary. But after getting into it, you realize I’m in control of this.

ROSE: That’s right. Mhm I love your answer for entrepreneurship. It’s exactly ours as well. Yeah. So learning more a little bit about you guys. Before recording I learned that you also did some home exchanging. Can you please tell us a little bit more about that.

DAVE: Yeah you bet. Back in 2002, we had built a new home here in Saint George. And Saint George is in southwest Utah. We’re close to the big five national parks, you know, Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, arches, Grand Canyon. Yeah, and all of those. And so it’s a very desirable place for specifically Europeans to come. And we wanted to do some adventures. And we’re always looking to save a buck. Right. And so. Well, we had watched the movie The Holiday, uh, Jack Black and Kate Winslet, and it talked about this idea of, well, it showcased home exchanging. Right. So I got on home exchange. Com and found out that it was a real thing. And so we just posted our home and because of the location where we’re in and also the home that we had built was a very desirable home. Had a nice swimming pool. We were up against a mesa, a volcanic mesa, and so we had a 50 foot water slide coming down into the pool. And it was just a tropical Paradise in the desert. Here. And so it was a very desirable place for people to come. And so we were inundated with requests of, uh, hey, we’re we’re from The Hague or we’re from Rome, or from Italy or from Paris or whatever. And, uh, we started making connections and going on home exchanges, and we quickly found out that it wasn’t so much the destination that we were going to, but connecting with people from all different cultures and all parts of the world.

TRACI: So in home exchange, you can either exchange homes or you can host each other. And our favorite way was to host. And we have made lifelong friends that way. And our favorite vacations have been where someone has hosted us. You know, probably our our two favorite were Paris and Rome. And when we went to Rome. It was a retired.

DAVE: Attorney.

TRACI: A retired attorney, and he took us. He had two homes like we did, you know, so he could stay in one or stay with his daughter. And then he’d come over every day, you know, see how we’re doing or take us on adventures or, you know, he hosted dinners and we met his friends and we met his family. And it was fabulous to be able to go to Rome and not do a tourist type of vacation. We got to see how they lived and learn about their culture and learn about their society. And you know, he told us about the streets they marched down when Mussolini came into town and how he was a little boy, and they put them all in soldiers uniforms. And Mussolini had them marching down the streets. You can’t get that on any tour in Italy.

ROSE: We just.

TRACI: Love it. So the connection part of Home Exchange was what we loved, right?

ROSE: Yeah. You mentioned that connection. Yeah. Just not about the travel but connecting with people. So yeah. That was your most kind of memorable moment there, huh? Yeah. And did you have anyone in particular that you hosted that you felt like this great connection with?

TRACI: Yeah. So we have a friend who visits us yearly, and now that we’ve put our house up for rent, we don’t know what to do because she usually comes and stays with us every summer. She’s a writer in Paris. She writes television series or movies in France, but her passion is baking, and when she comes to our house, she loves to teach how to do French baking. So I have learned to do all kinds, you know, French baguette and brioche and croissants. So part of our travel, I told David, I really, I really still want to do baking. So we bought a pizza oven and at home we were testing, how can I bake French? You know, things.

ROSE: Yeah, in your RV with.

TRACI: The RV and it works. We figured it out.

ROSE: How cool is that? How do you bring that with you? Where do you put it?

TRACI: And so we have a solar stove. It’s a pizza oven, solar stove. And we’ve just figured out how to, you know, put something over the front in order to capture the heat for a certain amount of time to let it bake.

ROSE: That’s awesome.

DAVE: And we, uh, we’ve got a Yakima exo system on the back. And so that’s that’s where we put that. Perfect.

ROSE: Yeah.

TRACI: So, Emily, instead of coming to stay at our house, we told her you might just have to adventure with us in the RV and do baking that way. So there you go. What happens with that? But her family is part of our family. They have become family. Her extended family, you know? Yeah, we are actually going to France to visit them in April for three weeks.

ROSE: Beautiful. I love the connections that.

DAVE: Exchange.

ROSE: Relationship. Yeah, yeah. And you’re learning all these skills and yeah, I.

DAVE: I used to weigh £140 until, uh, Tracy learned how to do French baking. Uh.

ROSE: Oh. No. I’m. Yeah, it’s great though. Something that you do with your hands. And I love that, too. Tracy. I love to learn new skills with my hands. I taught myself to, uh, bake bread and, like all these things, some things that we buy at the store. But I can make at home, like ice cream, chocolate. It’s wonderful. Plus, it just gets you out of your head. Like, as an entrepreneur, you can just take a break. I love it. That’s like one of my best ways. Mhm.

DAVE: Well and the the fun part of having that available on the road is it creates a connection immediately.

ROSE: You know people.

TRACI: Are saying what are you doing. And they feel like they can come over and chat. It’s not like.

ROSE: It’s not like just sit down, here’s a drink. You know, like actually you’re doing something and you can share it in a different way. Yeah. That’s awesome. So transitioning from this home, exchanging to RV life is is quite a shift. What motivated you guys to make that change.

DAVE: So we’ll share a little bit of uh, vulnerable situation. Obviously, the mortgage industry took a significant change in 2008, and this was an incredible life lesson because you go through that accumulation stage of your life.

TRACI: We had two houses, you know, a cabin, a big house with a 50 foot water slide and you know, all the toys you can think of boats and snowmobiles and, you know, whatever, all of that, we just accumulated everything.

DAVE: And, uh, the interesting thing is, any time that we. Would say, what are we going to do this weekend? It was, well, we’ve invested X amount of dollars into these things. We better use them. And thus we became slaves to our possessions.

ROSE: Right.

TRACI: And there’s a little bit of guilt involved in that. Oh, yeah. It was, uh, a life altering experience during the crash of oh eight when the market changed. And, you know, because we’re entrepreneurs, you know, we put lots of money in the bank and we just tried to stay afloat. We didn’t know how long the market was going to stay down. If we would have known, we probably would have sold everything while we still had some money. Right.

ROSE: Mhm. Yeah.

DAVE: We uh, we built about, uh, nine spec homes and we’re holding those spec homes when the market crashed. And so to settle those debts we sold everything. And, uh, well, this is up your alley. Being a figure skater.

ROSE: Mhm.

DAVE: That’s right. We decided okay we need to do something entrepreneurial because that’s, that’s our spirit. Right. And we opened an ice rink.

ROSE: In a.

TRACI: Desert.

ROSE: Where, where was this.

TRACI: In Saint George.

ROSE: Oh awesome. Oh my. Is it still there.

TRACI: Winter was great, right? No.

ROSE: Okay. No.

DAVE: That was one of life’s lessons, right? Don’t go into something that you know very little about. And I didn’t know hardly anything other than I thought this would be way cool.

ROSE: Yeah. So.

DAVE: And and it was really cool.

TRACI: Well, and everybody was down, you know, during that time it’s like, oh, the crash. We thought bringing an ice rink would lift. People would bring cheer or happiness or whatever, right.

ROSE: Yeah.

TRACI: But uh, not really knowing what we were doing. Mhm. Uh, we made a lot of mistakes.

ROSE: Hey you tried you have great stories. You move on. You know entrepreneurs. Yeah.

DAVE: But because of that, uh, we eventually had to sell everything to settle our debts. And, uh, and so it was a complete reset, and we put a few keepsakes in storage and moved to Hawaii with two suitcases.

ROSE: Hawaii. Hey, I was married in Hawaii. I absolutely love that place on Kauai. On Kauai, Hawaii.

TRACI: We love.

ROSE: Oh, my fate. Yes, yes. Oh. How beautiful. Yes. Beautiful.

DAVE: Yeah, yeah. So we lived there about seven years.

TRACI: By that time, our children were out of the home. Okay. You know, so we tried to hold on to things and tell our, our kids graduated high school, and then once they graduated, we thought, what’s holding us here? We’ll just, you know, pack things up and try something new. Mhm. And who doesn’t love the beach. And it was so healing and so therapeutic for us.

DAVE: You know I remember that first day because in the vein of our existence you know of hey we’re okay to adventure and risk. We didn’t have a job lined up. We didn’t have an apartment. We had a hotel for a week, lined up and then just knew that wherever we go, we’re going to make it right.

TRACI: And we had very little money in the bank. Yeah. I mean, we just we just had each other. That’s it.

ROSE: Right? Oh, I love it guys. So positive about it.

DAVE: But we sat on the beach that first day and it was Christmas Eve. Yeah. We flew over on Christmas Eve and it was one of those. You know what? I don’t have to worry about winterizing a cabin, the cabin. I don’t have to worry about registering vehicles, you know, and it was such a liberating experience. And it really taught us a lesson in minimalism, which segwayed into our ideal of could we actually do the RV life? Because it’s not necessarily a choice of minimalism. When you go RV thing, it’s a necessity of minimalism, right? You just can’t take everything with you. No.

ROSE: Right. Mhm.

DAVE: And that was a beautiful experience to experience that release of all of these things that were slaves to. And now we can just adventure and enjoy God’s great creations right.

ROSE: That’s right. Oh that’s awesome. And so now you guys so you made that transition. Did you face any real challenges? It sounds like you really embraced that minimal lifestyle. But anything in particular.

TRACI: Well, coming back to the States, I mean, to the mainland, we we came back to take care of aging parents. And also, you know, our children were getting. Being married and having children. So the draw of being near family, we had hoped that they’d move to Hawaii, but it was so expensive to live there, you know, and, and, uh.

ROSE: And then it’s an island. So, you know, you might get a little trapped feeling after a while.

TRACI: We actually never really felt trapped there. Oh, that’s great. And I think it’s because we’re nature people, you know, we just love being outside. And how are you trapped in nature? We were never trapped. Right, right.

DAVE: Mhm. Anytime you start feeling sideways, just walk to the beach and that solves it.

ROSE: Nice. Yeah. Mhm.

DAVE: Yeah. To answer your question as far as the challenges the. Yes the you’ve heard the saying time is money. Those are the two challenges. Time and money. Yeah. Right. Uh getting out onto the RV world. It’s an investment to purchase an RV. Mhm. And also how do I leave my job. How do I find the time to go out RVing. And so yes, those two challenges are significant. But uh, it’s one of those things. And in the entrepreneurial spirit we found that because we owned the RV and we’re living in the house. Right. And so it was always the, the contrast from there, we found that if we’re going to take on this new adventure. Uh, this entrepreneurial adventure, we’ve got to go all in. And so, uh, renting the house, kind of burning the ships. If you go to an island, you know, so that you can’t go back, that kind of, uh, that kind of solved both of those problems. We now have an income from our rental property, and we’ve got all the time in the world because we don’t have a house to take care of. Mhm.

ROSE: That’s right. So now you guys are host consultants for Curb and Turf. So explain for our audience here what is Curb and Turf. How does it work.

DAVE: Yeah. So in its simplicity Curb and Turf is a free app that connects people who have land, have a place that an RV could park with, people who have an RV needing a place to park. And so the app just brings them together and generates an ability for landowners or land managers to be able to generate a little extra income, kind of a side hustle, a side gig, um, and provide the supply that’s needed in the RV world of places to stay.

ROSE: Yeah, yeah, it really is.

DAVE: It in its simplicity.

ROSE: Yeah, it’s it’s necessary. And, you know, it kind of sounds like boondockers welcome some of the other things out there. But what makes it a little more special.

DAVE: Sure. Yeah. So there’s, there are lots of other models similar to that. Boondockers welcome harvest hosts, Hipcamp things like that. The thing that sets curb and turf apart is in contrast to like a harvest host. Mhm. Curb and turf allows the host to actually make a little bit of money. Right. Because it’s kind of like an Airbnb model where I’ve got some land I’m happy to host people. And so you just list a certain price for that spot for the night. And then people using the app can make a reservation and connect with that host from the user side. It’s unique in that the posting price that you see on the app is the price. When you go to check out if a host says, yeah, you can stay on my property for $30 a night and you go to check out, it’s $30, it’s not, oh, we’re going to charge a, an administration fee or dark sky fee or sunrise fee, or if you want to enjoy the sunset, there’s a fee for that.

TRACI: You know, the other thing is curb and turf is not a yearly subscription. Some of those places, they going to have you do a yearly subscription, right. And curb and turf only makes money when there’s a connection, you know, when somebody stays.

ROSE: So there’s no fee like for the host right off the bat, correct? Yeah. Okay.

DAVE: The host is not charged to list their property and the user is not charged to use the free app.

ROSE: So that’s really cool. Yeah, that is different.

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ROSE: How did you guys discover this opportunity?

DAVE: So back in May of, uh, 2023, some high school buddies got together and we all decided to take a little golf trip. Right. And guys that I had seen throughout the years, but not in any significant manner. And so there’s a lot of catch up. And one of the cart buddies of mine, I just said, so what are you up to? And he said, I’ve actually started a new job. I’m working for a company called Pod Up, which helps people put together online shows more focused on podcasts. And I just mentioned, well, you know, Tracy has always loved teaching our kids through toys. And so she wants to.

TRACI: Through play playing with.

ROSE: Toys. Yep I understand.

DAVE: Mhm. So she wants to uh, create a YouTube channel. Is that something that you could help us put together. Because we had no idea what to do. And he said yeah, just let us coach you through that and so he arranged a meeting with the CEO of Pod Up and he said, tell us what you want to do. We’re like, well, we’ve got an RV and we want to take these dolls around to various adventures throughout the country and just tell the story through their perspective. And he’s like, hold on, wait, you want to travel the country in an RV and and do this? I’m consulting another individual who’s looking for a couple to travel the country. Would you be interested in hooking up with them? And that was the introduction to Curb and Turf. Wow. And so it was one of those real serendipitous meetings, if you will.

ROSE: That is really fantastic. Yeah.

DAVE: So that’s how we got introduced to Curb and Turf. Yeah.

ROSE: And so Curb and Turf really kind of aligns with your passion here for making connections with people, places.

TRACI: I think they’re giving us a lot of leeway in how we try to find hosts. And we found the way to find people is through connection. Okay. You know, because that is such a passion of ours. Um, we find that that’s the best way to find hosts is being authentic and having a connection, whether it be with the land or, you know, what? You what? Yeah. I mean, they have a business that they have a passion for. You know, we’re truly interested in people and, you know, what are they going through and what do they have to share or give to the world around them, you know? Right.

ROSE: What kind of connections? Elaborate more on that. How do you actually find the people? You just go out to someone and hey, you have some land. Yeah, really.

TRACI: A lot of times, you know, we’ll be staying at the beach and there’s someone next to us and, you know, you just chat, you know, where do you live? And, you know, you just talk about shared dinner together. You, you know, you become it’s almost as if you’re in a neighborhood. You know, it’s a community of happy people, you know, in in a neighborhood, do you know all your neighbors and do you even talk to them? But when you’re out in an RV, people are smiling. They’re happy to be there. You know, it’s a different community. And, you know, people have asked us, aren’t you nervous about having somebody come? You know, we’ve listed our house, we’re a host at our home. And they’ll say, aren’t you nervous about having someone be in your place in your stuff? And I’m like, no, you don’t realize these people, this community, they’re happy. They’re, you know, respectful.

ROSE: Yeah.

TRACI: They’re just they’re a different group, you know? And that’s the way we find people and host and connections. We just we’re open.

DAVE: And we’re discovering, quite honestly, Rose, how to best make those connections. So we’ve only done one other significant road trip of recruiting hosts. And that was to Yellowstone earlier this summer. And yeah, it was anything from driving by somebodies property and going up, knocking on their door. And, you know, because they had a nice half acre piece of ground next to their home and parked their own RV on it. Uh, and so just walking up, knocking on the door and saying, hey, would you be interested in making some of your other land available? Because the only two things that are required to become a host is access and a relatively level spot.

ROSE: Right? Yeah. That helps.

DAVE: If you have hookups, all the better. But it’s not required because most every RV is self-contained, right? And a lot of it is just people traveling through, just needing a place to, uh, to stop for the night. Yeah. And so from the very basic of knocking on someone’s door to asking around. People that you know and and.

TRACI: Also seeing what things in the community would be a draw. For instance, we’ve signed up gymnasiums that on the weekends they do line dancing or swing dancing. You know, who in an RV isn’t going to look for something to do, you know, what do you do when you’re passing through a town? And if you look on curb and turf and it’s called swing dancing, they’ll go, huh? I’ve always wanted to try that, or a line dancing or, you know, maybe you’re wanting, you know, there’s places that we’ve found on the road that they teach people how to make cheese. Uh, one of our favorite, favorite places we found in Idaho. Preston, Idaho. Yeah, yeah.

DAVE: Preston, Idaho, home of Napoleon Dynamite. Yes. That’s right.

TRACI: They had the most amazing dairy. You know, it. It was so clean.

DAVE: And it was a boutique dairy. So it wasn’t your mass. You know, we’ve got 7000 milk cows.

TRACI: They had under 40 cows. And the whole thing was run with a computer that allowed the cows to graze in 16 different pastures. And the computer would lock the gate to the pastures that were growing and allow them into the pasture that was ready for them to graze. It didn’t smell like cows, you know, they had fresh ice cream. They I mean, just we have seen some amazing, amazing things with people trying to do things that are good for nature and good for us. Right?

ROSE: Yeah. There are a lot of great people out there. I mean, before Curb and Turf, you know, we were doing the Boondockers welcome. And there were the hosts that were just so wonderful with our boys, and they won in Florida. They taught him how to play ukulele and steel drums. And yeah, another one took us out kayaking. And, you know, it’s that whole kind of thing. There’s a lot of good out there.

TRACI: Yeah, yeah. And so that’s what we’re finding when we find places, you know, what do you have to offer that sets you apart? You know, sure. You can have a place to park, but what about the connection? You know, how would you like to connect with this growing community?

ROSE: Um, yeah. So all the hosts do they have to be that, like, hands on, or can they just be like, here’s my land, you park. You know what kind of hosts?

DAVE: Yeah. There’s also people that, uh, you know, for instance, they might own a piece of property that they don’t live on, but it’s got access, and the app takes care of everything the app does payment processing, notifications.

TRACI: It allows you to block out days. You know, if you’re using the property yourself, you know you’re going up in your own RV and going to camp for the whole month of July. You can block out whatever you want. And that’s the nice thing, is, the app is very user friendly and you can be as hands on as you want. Or just the opposite, right?

DAVE: There is an option to say, I want to communicate with my guests or they can just show up.

ROSE: Well, that’s yeah, that’s good to know that there’s something there’s a communication there. So they know what to expect. Right.

DAVE: Yeah. And then the app also protects the host in that they can establish a these are the types of rigs that we can handle. And these are quiet hours you know pet policies whatever question people have it’s covered in the app.

ROSE: So are you guys the only host consultants for curbing turf.

DAVE: Uh currently yes. Curb and Turf is a relatively new company. It’s a startup, and we are the only full time host consultants who are traveling the country recruiting hosts.

ROSE: Are there any other opportunities for the entrepreneurs in this audience?

DAVE: Well, I am glad you asked. Rose. Yes, uh, we do have, uh, three different opportunities entrepreneurial opportunities within curb and turf that exist right now. One is refer a friend for instance, if you know somebody who has a piece of property and they may have dabbled with wow, it’d be nice to open a campground, but I don’t want to put out the big expense. This is a way for them to just put a toe in the water, right? Test the temperature, and if they do, sign up as a host on curb and turf and you have referred them, then they would receive $25 of curb and turf credit that they can use for future stays. And then also the person that you refer that actually signs up as a host would also receive $25 as a curb and turf credit. The second is more of a long haul approach and that is a recurring income. Imagine if you had been on the ground floor of Airbnb and worked out an arrangement where you got a percentage of every stay, and now look how huge. Airbnb. Is right now, right? That’s a similar situation where we have a recurring income where instead of the $25 credit, if you refer a host that signs up, then you can waive the $25 credit in favor of a perpetual income that would last for the life of the listing, and that is calculated as a percentage of carbon turf revenue.

DAVE: Don’t want to get stuck in the weeds on on that calculation. If somebody wants details, they can reach out to me, but it’s a minimum of $1 a night. And then if the site is a more high end reservation site, then that recurring income would only go up from there. Mhm. That’s great. We have one other which is sponsoring a boondock site. Obviously boondock sites don’t generate any revenue. However, if you’ve got a great boondock site that you would like to have listed on Curb and Turf because Curb and Turf also highlights, Boondock sites were not just a we’re going to close everything off unless it makes us money. No, we’re we’re really into benefiting the RV community. And so if you sponsor a boondocking site, it will have there an option to say this boondocking site is sponsored by Rose Willard. And if you’d like to thank her, you know, drop a donation right type of thing. And so that may or may not be a big generator of revenue, but it’s it’s a way for the community to say, hey, thanks for this great site.

ROSE: That’s really cool. So boondock site, you mean your own personal property, but it’s just land and nothing else. Is that what you’re talking about?

DAVE: Actually, no. And any place that let’s say that there’s a canyon near your place that, you know, has parking overnight parking available, but it’s not currently listed on curb turf. Okay. You go out, take some pictures and and post it of, hey, this is a site that Rose found. Shout out to Rose for right for putting this on the site. So no, if you’ve got your own property that that you want to allow boondockers on, yes, I suppose you could list it as a boondock site, or you could just list it with no income generated for you. The site will show it as a $10 listing, right? I understand that’s the minimum of what Curb and Turf would take.

ROSE: So you’re saying a site that’s a boondock, that maybe it’s on another app or you know of it or something. It’s a boondock site, but you actually went there. You camped on it, you know, it’s good for this type of vehicle and the, you know, what’s around it. And that’s what you claim as. Okay.

DAVE: Yeah. You can sponsor the details of of what it is. And yeah. And it’s kind of a that’s great. Kudos for the for the community. Yeah. So it’s different from refer a friend because refer a friend. It actually results in a curb and turf site where the person charges a fee and is listed on the app. The boondock site is if it’s a completely free place for somebody to stay, you don’t own the property per se. And so you can’t receive any revenue, right? Unless you own the property, right, as a host site. And so this is a free place to stay. And because you brought it to the community, there’ll be a little tag that says, hey, if you’d like to thank so and so for showing you this boondock site, you know, drop them a little donation as a thank you.

TRACI: And then there’s the donation go through carbon turf.

DAVE: It does go through carbon turf, but then goes back to the person that sponsored that site.

ROSE: Gotcha okay. Yeah I understand. Well this is great great opportunities. All these little bits add up. So very cool. Thank you.

DAVE: You bet. Yeah. And a lot of people will look at that recurring income and say woohoo a dollar. You know kind of the do I stop and pick up a penny right. But that’s why I say it’s more of the long haul and big picture. This would be for people who have an extensive reach of influence to landowners, right. That would want to set up a number of sites. Right. And reminds me of an experience that I had where a neighbor of mine was an audio video guy and he said, hey, do you want to go out to Malibu, California and help me install this stereo system, home theater system in this house? And I’m like, well, that’s a pretty cool looking house. I mean, it was on the cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Beautiful. I’m like, how did this guy come up with his income? He said, well, he invented the magnetic strip on the back of. Credit cards, library cards, ID cards, whatever it is that has that magnetic swipe and he gets paid like 0.00 $0.03 per swipe, and $1 is a little bit more than 0.003. Yeah, of course, swipes are going to be much more prevalent than nights stays.

TRACI: Because there are millions of swipes going on in the world every day.

ROSE: But the moral is, it all adds up and you’re benefiting the community, the Aven community.

DAVE: So exactly why not growing this map of places to to stay with curb and turf throughout the country and then having some perpetual income go along?

ROSE: That’s right.

DAVE: Perfect. And of course, curb and turf is very open to how to grow their business. And so if there’s anybody out there with a great idea on how to expand, or if they’ve got a certain influence and reach, that would fit nicely into expanding this business, just have them reach out directly to me and we’ll entertain most anything. Right? Right. You’ll at least get an answer. Yes. So yeah, the main thing is that curb and turf is in this growth mode. They’d like to see a lot of host sites all over the country, and we do not claim that we are the only ones that have any idea on how to accomplish that.

TRACI: And just to note that it’s not just the United States. They want it to grow.

ROSE: Oh, fantastic.

TRACI: Canada, you know, so keep that in mind. You know, if you’re thinking of your reach, right. They want it to eventually go to Europe. And, you know, same as Airbnb. They’re following the same setup model that Airbnb used.

DAVE: As a basis for growth. Yeah. And that’s.

TRACI: Their dream. Like to be as big as a company like that.

ROSE: Excellent. Why not. So what do you guys doing to expand that reach after doing that.

DAVE: Yeah. So great question. That’s why we’re on the podcast circuit. You’ve been so generous Rose to have us on your podcast. We love it. So of course reaching out to the community through these avenues. And then we’re also going to be hosting an RV convention this summer, a free convention where different RV interests. We plan on having 30 different presentations, right, that are RV related that people can sign on. And we’ve found that giving the community something without any expectation of getting something in return is the way that this community works. And so that’s what that convention is going to be all about, is bringing in experts that have a lot to offer to the RV community and just connecting.

ROSE: Yeah, connecting and helping each other grow. And we’re all in this together guys.

DAVE: Absolutely.

ROSE: That’s right.

DAVE: So and the details on that can be found at uh RV convention.com okay. Yeah.

ROSE: I’ll put all these links in the show notes for sure.

DAVE: Appreciate that.

ROSE: So for those looking for opportunities to create income while on the road, what advice would you have for them in general?

DAVE: Yeah, certainly following the example of what we’ve gone through is just putting yourself out there. I don’t want this to sound like, ooh, you know, but it’s one of those things that you put something into the air, um, and things happen. That’s right. Did we purchase the RV thinking, you know, someday we’re going to go out and recruit hosts for, you know, no, no, that thought did not cross our minds.

TRACI: We purchased the RV to be able to go camping with our children and grandchildren. Yeah. And it’s interesting how life takes you in places. You know, we’re on a river of life, right? You can grasp anything you want, you know, grasp the tree branch and just climb off the river and say, here we are, let’s do this adventure. And then you jump back on the river and float down till you find something else. You know, it’s like, that’s kind of who we are. We’re like, what new something fun thing can we do? Right?

ROSE: And that is.

DAVE: Awesome. Yeah. And I love the RV entrepreneur podcast because it generates that thought process of, well, maybe if I put myself out there, then something will come up. And that’s right, for anybody that wants to follow that entrepreneurial spirit, whatever adventure you take on, the chances that you’re actually going to stay in that specific realm is probably pretty slim. But the fact that you put yourself out there, then something happens, you know, and it does.

TRACI: Well, pot up has helped us because they’ll teach. You start to finish how to do something. It takes a lot of the worry and the guesswork out of am I doing it right?

ROSE: Right?

TRACI: That’s true. They’ll tell you there are so many people that start a YouTube channel, but they don’t know how to monetize or, you know, they’re trying to do things on their own, not really knowing what to do. So educate yourself, right.

ROSE: And then have the confidence.

TRACI: Yeah, you have the confidence to do it. And then like we did we rented our house out. So we have some income to help us just do it. Mhm.

ROSE: I love it also how one thing just leads to the next and you just keep going and keep that spirit going. So guys where can we connect with you to follow your journey and to connect with curb and turf. Yeah.

DAVE: So obviously curb and turf.com. And then we have an extension that belongs to us. So that’s curb and turf.com/start hosting. And then you can follow the journey on our RV cast podcast.

ROSE: Oh that’s right.

DAVE: Yeah that is in the process.

TRACI: We’re starting everything brand new. So we’re drinking from a fire hydrant at the moment. Yeah.

ROSE: It’s all coming at you at once. And you’re trying to just start, right? Yeah.

DAVE: The RV Cast podcast is going to be highlighting different sites throughout the country. And then obviously, if people want to be in that entrepreneurial spirit that have a piece of ground that has access and somewhat level, what a great way to dip your toe in into an entrepreneurial venture without any risk, really. There’s no cost to do it, and you’ll find that it’s just a fun thing to host.

ROSE: Yeah.

DAVE: And yeah. And if people have expertise in certain things, you know, some of our hosts own businesses and they just want to bring people to their business. And that’s kind of the harvest host model. Come stay in our parking lot for free. But we would appreciate you buying something from our gift shop or something like that. Right?

ROSE: Right.

DAVE: But Curb and Turf is like, for instance, we’ve got friends that are expert side by side writers, and there’s rock climbing here. Some of the best side by side trails in the world, you know, they can list that as an ancillary activity on their curb and turf listing, so you.

TRACI: Can adventure safely without taking the risk of I’ve never driven a side by side, let alone, you know, climb a steep mountain.

ROSE: Um, or.

DAVE: Any of your listeners that have a hobby that they would love to take a chance at monetizing. Let’s say that, uh, somebody excellent Fisher fisherman or fisher? Fisher woman. Is that, uh, I like it. Fisherperson.

ROSE: Anchor person.

DAVE: Angler. Angler, professional angler. Uh, and they have a boat. And so host an RV person, and then you can list an ancillary activity to say, you know, I’ll take you out fishing for half a day for this fee, for instance, or no fee at all, depending on what people want to do, if they just want the connection, or if they want to turn their hobby into an entrepreneurial venture. Yeah, I’ll take you out surfing because I’ve got, uh, property near the beach or, uh, stand up paddling or four wheeling or horseback riding, whatever it may be. This is a great way to to make those connections.

ROSE: Excellent. Thank you guys. Thank you, Dave and Tracy for coming on the show today and sharing your incredible journey. I think your story will definitely resonate with our listeners here, uh, not only as a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit, but also as a beacon of the power of connection. I love how you’re taking your passion for connection to a whole new level as consultants for Curb and Turf, and I also really appreciate how you’re empowering other, like our viewers of any age, to embrace the beauty of nature and the joy of connecting with others along the way. So thank you both for your time, your wisdom, your commitment to all this. And I just want to wish you all the best going forward, guys.

DAVE: Oh, this has been such a joy to spend some time with you. And uh, thank you so much, Rose, for having us on your podcast, and we look forward to following you throughout your journey as well.

TRACI: Yes. Thank you so much, Rose. We appreciate.

ROSE: It. You’re welcome. I will be definitely following you all as well.

DAVE: Thanks a bunch.

ROSE: This episode has left me feeling truly grateful for all the connections I’ve made being an entrepreneur in the RV. Life and Dave and Tracy have shown us that the true beauty of entrepreneurship lies in the genuine. You want human connections we make and the lives we touch along the road to success. So as you venture forth on your own entrepreneurial path, remember the importance of fostering meaningful relationships and embracing the spirit of community. After all, it’s these connections that not only enrich our lives, but also fuel our entrepreneurial endeavors with purpose and fulfillment. So if you want to check out Carbon Turf and explore the opportunities it offers for travelers, hosts as well as entrepreneurs, be sure to check out these show notes for those links, as well as how to connect with Dave and Tracy. And speaking of community and connection, we want to know what challenges you face while working from the road in the RV entrepreneur community on Facebook, or if you have questions you’d like us to address on this podcast, send us a message or leave us a voicemail at the RV Entrepreneur.com slash contact. This way we can all help each other out. Have a great week!

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The RV Entrepreneur is presented by RV Life – Tools that Make Camping Simple
https://rvlife.com

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